Workshops · Testimonies · If you want to know how fonts are created and used in a practical way, these workshops will be perfect for you. We have organized some informative sessions with amazing teachers who will teach you the secrets of their discipline. The workshops will be accessible to the general public.

Introduction to Type Design

A three day intensive workshop. For those inexperienced in type design you will learn the basics, and for those who have started already you will have the chance to advance your knowledge of the subject. Through lectures and exercises we will understand the structure of letters, how to manipulate design software and create a working methodology so that students can continue to develop their fonts after the sessions.

* Each student will work with their own laptop. We will use a specific font editing software. If you don´t have it installed, the free demo of Glyphs can be dowloaded.
*The course requires a minimum of 10 students

Python for designers

Understand how code works and how to become a better designer by developing your own tools and controlling your own design process.

Over 40 hours of class spread over 6 days, we will learn the fundamentals of programming with Python and how to apply it to graphic design using Drawbot and to type design and production with RoboFab & UFO, using RoboFont. If anyone is specifically interested the use of Robofab will be demonstrated with other applications such as FontLab and Glyphs. Previous knowledge of programming is not required.

By the end of the course participants will learn:

-How to write small and useful scripts.
-How to keep learning to write more complex code.
-How to read documentation
-Reed and understand code
-How to modify an existent script and adapt the code for their own needs.

* Each student will work with their own laptop. For technical reasons you need Mac OSX. If you don’t have one, please contact us on [email protected] and we will assist you.
* The course requires a minimum of 10 students

Ortotypography

In this workshop we will learn the value of typography related to design and communication. Through looking at real examples we will examine how the correct application of orthotypography is advantageous. In doing so we will become further informed about the expressive potential that typography and orthotypography bring to graphic and written communication.

The classroom based part (12 hours) will cover analysis of common mistakes, theory, written exercises (individual and in groups) and tests on an online platform with email feedback so that the students can be aware of their mistakes and improvement over the course (you will check your personal progress with a percentage improvement marking system).

The online part (8h) consists of providing 15 days free access to an e-learning platform where the students will find theory, test and self-evaluation exercises to keep learning and refresh what they learnt in the classroom.

From stone to spaceship

The Medialab-Prado building, that used to be The old Belgian Sawmill, has many facades decorated with beautiful letterforms. In June 2012,Manufactura Independiente organized a workshop to release them from the stone in which they are set and let them free into the digital realm. In this workshop we will continue this process in bringing this font to our screens.

We will use free software and open source tools (F/LOSS) for all the design processes, and the final result will be available through the Open Font License (OFL).

We will give each participant a complete set of tools ready for use, personal advice and also a guide to their first steps in using their own free software tools, as well as how to make the transition from their existing workflow. We will delve deeper into the different technical aspects of creating a font for distribution, working on drawing vectors, font formats, spacing and kerning. We will also talk about free font licensing, copyright for typography, collective creation and free licensing.